In Search of April Raintree
A Touching Story by Beatrice Culleton Mosionier
In Winnipeg, Manitoba two Métis sisters experience oppression and hardships at a young age and strive to blossom in a society who has mistreated Native Canadians.
First published in 1983, Beatrice Culleton Mosionier’s In Search of April Raintree tells the fictional story of April and Cheryl Raintree, two sisters brought up in Winnipeg, Manitoba who learn the trials of growing up Métis in a culture that has stigmatized Native Canadians for centuries. The novel portrays the evolution of these sisters from innocent little girls to much wiser women who gain deeper insight into the world.
April’s Difficult Journey
With April’s first person account, the narrative reveals the unabashed thoughts of a woman embittered by her experiences in cruel foster homes and who resents her Métis heritage. Scorned by insults and beatings April is indoctrinated with damaging stereotypes about her people and sheds part of her ancestry to fully take on a White persona. She always envisioned life as a white person to be similar to a fairy tale; nevertheless idealizing another race proves to be detrimental to her personal development and her relationship with her younger sister.
Cheryl’s Cultural Pride
On the other hand Cheryl immerses herself in her Ojibway ancestry and pursues studies in social work to help young adults in her community. She witnesses first hand the tragic fate of her peers, most particularly women who are said to be plagued with the “Native girl syndrome” as they sombre in drugs, alcohol abuse and prostitution. However her avid social activism and her dedication to her people’s plight aren’t enough to heal old wounds from her days in foster homes.
A Look at the Life of a Métis
Both April and Cheryl learn how one’s personal identity is tightly intertwined with one’s cultural heritage and how Métis people live with the confusion of belonging to two opposing ethnicities. The story deals with sensitive issues, such as the consequences of residential schools on Native children, the pervasive oppression of First Nations people in Canada, and the often untold tribulations of Métis women fighting to forge their place in a society who has robbed them of their rights.
About Beatrice Culleton Mosionier
In Search of April Raintree is much more than a moving story, but rather a remarkable novel whose simple writing style evokes an array of emotions. The richness of Mosionier’s writing comes from her own experiences as a Métis growing up in St. Boniface, Manitoba during the same period as Cheryl and April. The writer’s other works include Christopher’s Folly, In the Shadow of Evil and Spirit of the White Bison.
Mosionier, Beatrice Culleton. In Search of April Raintree. Winnipeg: Portage & Main Press.
ISBN 1-894110-43-9
